A shooting that left one police officer dead appeared to target the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, local officials said on Friday.
“We can tell you that multiple rounds were fired, both we believe at law enforcement and potentially at the CDC. Purposely, we can’t say it definitively, but it would appear. We can’t rule that out right now,” Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a Friday press conference.
On Friday afternoon, a shooting broke out near the CDC campus and Emory University in Atlanta. One DeKalb County police officer was killed. Another law enforcement officer was injured and taken to the hospital.Â
Four bullet holes were found on the CDC campus walls, local officials said.
“At this time, we’re asking for the community’s prayers for his family, his friends, his loved ones and the entire DeKalb County Police Department family. It’s a noble profession that we all do,” DeKalb County Police Department Chief Greg Padrick said of the deceased officer, who was a married father of two.
DeKalb County police identified the officer as David Rose later on Friday, describing him as “diligent in his duty to protect our community” on social media.
CDC director Susan Monarez applauded law enforcement officials’ timely response to the shooting.
“We at CDC are heartbroken by today’s attack on our Roybal Campus, which remains on lockdown as authorities investigate the shooting,” she said in a statement. “A courageous local law enforcement officer gave their life, and another was injured, after a gunman opened fire on at least four CDC buildings.”
The shooter was found deceased at the scene with a gunshot wound. It is unclear whether it was self-inflicted or if he was shot by an officer. He was a white male, according to Paul Brown, FBI Special Agent, who noted that his motive has not been determined.
CNN, however, reported that, per a law enforcement official, police are operating under the assumption that the shooter believed he was sick and blamed the illness on the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Again to the men and women that work at the CDC we know that you’ve had a tough go of it in the past year and my heart goes out to you as uncertainty was around your occupation and you being citizens of Atlanta that means something to me and then today this occurs,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a press conference.
“We are with you, we stand with you and we’re doing everything we can to make sure that we bring resolve to this situation,” he added. Â
Updated at 10:57 p.m. EDT
